A refugee race from the Gamma Quadrant, the Skrreeans, arrives at Deep Space Nine. Though the universal translator initially has difficulty with their language, communication is eventually established. As they are a matriarchal society, their leader Haneek is drawn to Major Kira, who at first is eager to help. But when it's revealed that there are three million Skrreean refugees, and that they want to settle on Bajor -- believing it to be their fabled homeworld -- the situation quickly sours.
Outside writers Gabe Essoe and Kelley Miles pitched the original concept for this episode, but it had ultimately been discarded by the writing staff. Along came another outside writer, Frederick Rappaport (friend of staff writer Ira Steven Behr) to dust it off and take a swing at it. His take wasn't quite right either, but seemingly raised enough interest to save the story from the slush pile. I think the episode could have used a few more drafts.
For starters, there isn't enough here to fill a whole episode. I don't know what else explains the Act One failure of the universal translator -- the writers simply wanted to delay the revelation of how many refugees they really were and what they wanted. It's bad enough that this is asking the audience to scrutinize fanciful technology we shouldn't be thinking about. It's worse that it's wasting time in which a more genuine friendship between Haneek and Kira could have been established, one that set higher and more believable stakes for the end of the episode.
There's a real story to tell here about immigration. And since it's the Bajorans being asked to take people in, not the flawlessly virtuous Federation, there might have been an opportunity here to dig into the darker side of the issue -- racism, in coded and overt forms. But the premise is kind of flimsy and lets everyone off easily. The Skrreeans are asking for land the Bajorans aren't using, and the Bajorans say it's unusable. It's fairly easy to take them at their word; surely if there were land of value that really could sustain three million people, the Bajorans would be using it. For their part, the Skrreeans rather easily let go of their belief in Bajor as their holy land, allowing the Federation to provide an easy resettlement solution. But at least the writers did make a play at a darker ending here. Reportedly, Rappaport's script draft saw the Skrreeans actually settling on Bajor, due to their farming skills. Show runner Michael Piller brought in the more downbeat ending, in which the alien immigrants were turned away.
While the episode doesn't quite "get there" overall, there are some moments that do. We get a new mention of the Dominion, revealing them for the first time as brutal conquerors. There's fun comedy, from Morn (moved to tears by music, and with a Starfleet woman hanging on his arm) to Nog (getting into a fight and hissing like a cat) to Dax (getting good digs in at Bashir over the stupid, child-like behavior of Skrreean men) to meta commentary (the boring and depressing song played by the live musician at Quark's is a version of the Deep Space Nine theme!).
It's a big episode for the hair and makeup department, with dozens of extras decked out in flaky skin and worn clothes. (As Ira Steven Behr drolly put it: "There's something just disgusting and intrusive about an alien race that come and leaves bits of themselves on your table and on your glasses.") There's also some fun visual effects work, in a shot that shows Deep Space Nine with an alien ship docked at every last pylon and port. (Though the effects money had run out for the spaceship fight at the end; it plays out over a series of "phone calls" and "radar screens.")
It's also a fun episode for the many guest stars with a Star Trek pedigree. Leland Orser makes the first of four Trek appearances (though his most infamous role is from the the movie Se7en). Bajoran musician Varani is played by William Schallert, who had appeared in the original series classic "The Trouble With Tribbles." Bajoran politician Rozahn is played by Kitty Swink, wife of Armin Shimerman. And young Rumak is played by Andrew Koenig, son of Chekov himself, Walter Koenig.
Other observations:
- The series continues to jump right into episodes without establishing the station with an exterior shot or music. This episode begins immediately in Sisko's office.
- There's some disgusting handling of Ferengi ears in this episode. When Nog asks if the dabo girl Jake's been dating has a sister, he crassly fondles his own lobes. And when Nog later gets into trouble with Odo, the shapeshifter pinches Nog's ear to lead him away.
- While I'm not convinced overall by the portrayal of the Skrreean religion in this episode, the final moments where Haneek feels sorry for Kira seem annoyingly spot on. Haneek has just lost her son, and I should feel sorry for her. But she adopts a tone of cloying condescension that seems too damn typical of many preening religious figures. (Vedek Winn is the master on this show.)
No comments:
Post a Comment